GORDON ELLIOT is planning to send a team of around 30 horses for the Cheltenham Festival as he bids to improve on last year’s tally.

Don Cossack’s victory in the Timico Gold Cup was the highlight of three winners for the County Meath handler and though his star chaser has been retired through injury, Elliott goes to Gloucestershire with high hopes.

“I’d say we’ll send about 30 horses across. They’ve just had a canter this morning, a few will work tomorrow and a few will work in Leopardstown on Sunday,” he said. “We won’t do much more after that, only keep them ticking over.

“We’ve no Don Cossack this year, but we’ve got plenty of chances and we’re really looking forward to it.

“On numbers I’d say we have a lot more fancied ones this year, but we had three winners last year and it will be hard to beat that.”

Headlining the Elliott squad is the exciting Death Duty, whose target is the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, with the trainer ruling out any possibility of going for the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle over a shorter distance instead.

“He’s running in the Albert Bartlett. I’d say he’d be quick enough for the Neptune, I just think the Albert Bartlett is made for him,” he said.

“If he wins it’ll be great. He’s a three-mile chaser in the making. On form, he’s a better horse than Don Cossack was over hurdles, him and No More Heroes, but he’s still got to do it when he goes chasing.”

As revealed at the weekend, Elliott confirmed Tombstone, the recent conqueror of former two-mile king Jezki, was in line to be added to the field for the Stan James Champion Hurdle.

“He’s not supplemented yet, but if everything goes all right and he works all right at the weekend, the plan is we’ll probably run him in the Champion Hurdle,” he said. “It’s a very good race, but it’s probably an open enough race.

“We’ve never had a runner in the Champion Hurdle, so I don’t know what it takes to win one, but why not have a go?

“He’s in good nick.”

Hatton’s Grace winner Apple’s Jade holds an entry in the Champion Hurdle, but is set to head for the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle when she could renew rivalry with Limini, who beat her at Punchestown last week.

“She got beaten by a better horse on the day – there were absolutely no excuses,” said Elliott.

“You’d be hoping a bit better ground and a faster gallop would suit Apple’s Jade. Doing the donkey work I don’t think suits her and she ran a bit fresh, but Limini was definitely the best horse on the day.

"For me there's not a lot between any of the Irish horses. Of them all I think Outlander and Djakadam could be the two as they're going there fresh."

Gigginstown House Stud supremo Michael O'Leary sponsors the Ryanair Chase and while he has yet to win the race, there appears reason to hope that could change courtesy of Empire Of Dirt.

The 10-year-old was successful at the big meeting 12 months ago when in the care of Colm Murphy, winning the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate, and was last seen running Sizing John to three-quarters of a length in the Irish Gold Cup.